Ormsby wins in Hong Kong

Australia's Wade Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open Sunday as Rafael Cabrera-Bello suffered heartbreak on the final green for the second year in a row.

Ormsby, playing in the penultimate pair, had bogeyed the difficult 18th hole and left Cabrera-Bello needing only a par to force a playoff.

But a poor bunker shot by the Spanish world number 20 left him too much to do with his putt, which rolled inches wide to hand the Australian his first European Tour title — 13 years after he started playing on the circuit.

"Unbelievable to be honest … 280-odd starts on the European Tour, and a first win means a lot to me," said Ormsby.

"The first [name on the trophy] I look at is Greg Norman's so that's cool — I'm a bit emotional," he said, referring to the Australian golfing legend who won the Hong Kong Open in 1979 and 1983.

Ormsby's final-round 68 meant the world number 319 finished on an 11-under-par 269, one shot clear of Cabrera-Bello and three others.

Cabrera-Bello, who led last year's tournament for most of the week before being pipped by surprise winner Sam Brazel at the final hole, admitted it was a "bitter feeling" to narrowly miss out again.

"I felt that I give myself a really good chance coming in today again," he said. "I've been battling till the last hole.

"There's not really much more that you can ask yourself as a player than to have a chance coming up the last. The coin just didn't fall my side this time."

Americans Paul Peterson and Julian Suri, and Alexander Bjork of Sweden, also finished on 10 under par.

Newly crowned European Tour champion Tommy Fleetwood was a further shot back.

Adelaide-born Ormsby, who turned professional in 2001, had won only one tournament in his career before Sunday — the Asian Tour's Panasonic Open in India in 2013.

A peripheral figure on the European Tour, Ormsby said last month he had to play well in a tournament at Spain's Valderrama course simply to retain his position on the tour, which he has lost and regained five times over the years.

"It's pretty cool to get a win this late in your career," said the 37-year-old. "You definitely think that it might never happen, and you might have a good career but you never won."

"A lot of times, you're measured by your career wins. A lot of people ask those questions, how many times you've won. Unfortunately it was zero for me in Europe.

"Rafa [Cabrera-Bello] came up and gave me a big hug at the end, which was pretty cool."

- Wine and cigar -

The tournament's star names, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, ended on seven-under and five-under par respectively after failing to shine on the short but challenging Hong Kong Golf Club course.

Rose recovered from a rocky start to card another solid but unremarkable final round of 68.

"It wasn't quite what I was looking for but the start kind of indicated that," said Rose, who opened with bogeys on the first and third holes. "I'm really pleased that I kept (my) head up and ground it out."

"I’ve never seen the course play better. For such a short golf course, it had some teeth – which is good to see."